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SeeNicRun fitness and running blog started nearly 8 years ago when Nicol aka "Nic" wanted to share her running experiences with other runners across the country. It was a great way to connect with other runners. Now that Nic has immersed herself into the fitness world, she has come to share valuable information on overall health and living a healthy lifestyle. With an extensive background in personal and group training, competitive running and lifestyle coaching, you will learn that fitness is not only for the body but it's for the mind and spirit as well!

As a certified personal trainer it is Nic’s job to help people reach their fitness and health goals or they could waste your time and money if you have chosen to settle with the wrong professional. With the numbers of personal trainers nowadays, it is difficult to determine which is best for your needs. It can also be tough to know if you really need the expertise of a trainer or not.

Once you shop around for a personal trainer, there are numerous gyms that can offer you lots of options in personal training solutions and their high-pressure salesmen would also even try to convince you to purchase a package. However, before signing on the dotted line, it is best to make the right decision first to reach all your goals.

Where to Find a Trainer?

There are several ways on how you can find a personal trainer. The most typical way is by visiting a local gym around your place. Such facilities can offer you personal training packages for extra cost. If you don’t like the trainer in a particular gym in your place, you might want to consider referrals from some of your friends or relatives who have already considered hiring a trainer before.

You can also look for personal trainers by referring in your yellow pages, local papers or online. There are several trainers who already have their own websites and advertise their services on local papers. Just make sure that the website is reputable and reliable.

Questions to Ask a Certified Personal Trainer

You should take note that you are hiring a certified personal trainer to do a job for you. Therefore, if you want to get the best value, you should start an interview by asking some questions regarding what you need or prefer.

One of the questions you should ask is about the experience of the personal trainer. It is always important to ask about the experience of a professional as there are cases that the quality of services offered may depend on the experience of an expert. If you don’t want to experience low quality service, you should consider asking about the professional’s experience.

Another question you should ask must be related with the programs being offered. Not all certified personal trainers offer the same programs. Therefore, if you want to consider a particular program that would offer you satisfaction, it would be wise to stick with a trainer that offers a wide variety of programs that would meet your preferences. Asking about the facilities they have may also be a good idea as this can make a difference in terms of comfort.

Overall, hiring a certified personal trainer may be a great way to make your workouts more effective and enjoyable while allowing you to target your specific needs. It is also important to do your homework before you hire some to ensure that you acquire the expertise you are paying for. Then, you are more likely to feel satisfied with the money you have spent and you’ll be one step closer to achieve your fitness and health goals.

If you are a runner or you just like to workout, you have to make sure that you getting enough protein to help rebuild muscle that has been torn down from your workout. I suggest that you get your protein in no later than an hour after your workout. So, when you pack those sneakers and towels for your workout, throw in a good protein bar or drink. If you have been keeping up with this blog, our entry on "Building Muscle" gives you the formula to figure out how much protein you will need each day. If not, here it is again.

For Example: body weight is 160 lbs.

1. 160 lb. X 0.45 = 72kg body weight

2. 72 kg X 0.8 = 57.6 grams of protein per day

Protein helps to build and repair muscle tissue. When exercising, there is muscle tear down and damage, protein allows for muscle repair, synthesis and hypertrophy (an increase in muscle fiber size). After resistance exercise is done, the body’s muscles can be in synthesis above resting levels for up to 48 hours. During these periods, the body uses protein to support these muscle gains. Other benefits of protein: boosts the immune system, replaces red blood cells and helps with growing hair and nails (which I like).

Again, use the formula above to calculate your protein intake. Once you have done that, check out the "Food and Nutrition" section of this blog and review the list of protein portions that you can use to help build your protein each day through natural foods and not always through powders.

If you are always on the go and need to use powders, here are a few that you can research and decide on using!

Prograde Protein http://www.getprograde.com

MAX Gourmet Protein http://www.maxmuscleonline.com

Trader's WHEY Protein Trader Joe's

Hydro Whey http://www.gnc.com

**Ask your local gym or personal trainer what they would recommend for you!**

"Hey, how are you? Welcome to my blog! If you see anything that catches your attention and you have a question, feel free to contact me by filling out the box below. Have a great day and hope to hear from you soon!"